Month: September 2020

A top French appeals court has refused to block the extradition of the alleged financier of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide to a United Nations tribunal. The decision by France’s Court of Cassation is a blow to Felicien Kabuga, 84, who was arrested at his Paris-area apartment in May after a quarter-century on the run.  Kabuga’s lawyers had …

Read more “French Court Rules to Extradite Alleged Rwanda Genocide Financier to UN Court”

The inauguration of Belarus President Alexandr Lukashenko following elections widely viewed as rigged has ushered in a new scenario in Belarusian politics.  The pressure against the authoritarian president has not diminished as the opposition pledges to continue its protests while many countries refuse recognizing Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus.  In this report narrated …

Read more “For Belarus Protesters, Battle is for Long Haul”

Tough foreign policy issues, including tensions with Turkey, sanctions against Belarus and relations with China, will be up for discussion at a two-day European Union summit that starts Thursday.This end-of-month summit will be a test on whether the European Union can speak with one voice over thorny issues in its neighborhood and beyond.  The summit …

Read more “Thorny Summit: Turkey, Belarus, China, Migration Among Questions Facing EU Leaders”

Almost 500 days after Belgian parliamentary elections, seven parties from both sides of the linguistic aisle agreed early Wednesday on forming a fully functioning majority government under new Prime Minister Alexander De Croo that will center on dealing with the pandemic and its devastating economic impact. A final negotiating session that lasted almost 24 hours …

Read more “7 Parties Agree on Belgian Government Led by Liberal De Croo”

Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, his son and other top officials for allegedly rigging the country’s presidential election and committing acts of violence against protesters.The sanctions are the first imposed by major Western powers against Belarusian government officials and subject them to an immediate travel ban and asset freeze.Lukashenko’s …

Read more “Britain, Canada Sanction Belarus’ Lukashenko, Top Officials”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange would have to be “almost dying” to get out of arguably the most notorious prison in the United States if convicted of espionage charges and sent there, a court at London’s Old Bailey heard Tuesday. Assange, who is fighting an extradition request from the U.S., would likely be sent to the …

Read more “Assange May End Up at Colorado Supermax Jail, UK Court Told”

Five years after the Paris terrorist strikes and a week after a brutal knife attack in the French capital, French President Emmanuel Macron sketches the broad outlines Friday of upcoming legislation targeting groups considered hostile to the French Republic and its values — with radical Islam, including its political dimension, at the forefront.   The …

Read more “Macron to Outline France’s Controversial Anti-Separatism Bill”

This is not the student life Iris Raats had hoped for when she was accepted at Leiden University to study law. With the coronavirus pandemic casting its long shadow over education in the Netherlands and around the world, most of her lectures are online and the vibrant social life in the country’s oldest university city …

Read more “Dutch Students Work Hard To Keep Virus Out of Shared Houses”

Greek authorities on Monday began transferring hundreds of refugees from the island of Lesbos to reduce chronic overcrowding that caused hardship and fanned tensions with locals. Over 700 people were to sail to the Greek mainland aboard a ferry later Monday, organizers said, three weeks after a sprawling camp on the island burned down. Another group will …

Read more “Greece Steps Up Refugee Transfers from Congested Lesbos”

Polish leaders on Monday rejected suggestions that LGBT people in Poland are facing any kind of discrimination or depravation of rights, following the publication of an open letter from 50 ambassadors and international representatives expressing their support for “challenges faced” by the LGBT communities in the nation. The ambassadors’ appeal, coordinated by Belgium’s embassy in Poland …

Read more “Poland Rejects Letter From Diplomats Urging Tolerance for LGBT People”

Turkey says it will back Azerbaijan with all means necessary as fighting entered a second day Monday between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, in a sign the conflict could be widening.  Monday saw Azeri and Armenian forces exchange heavy artillery fire, with each accusing the other of starting the hostilities Sunday. …

Read more “Turkey Vows Support for Azerbaijan in Escalating Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict”

The World Health organization says 120 million rapid diagnostic tests for the coronavirus will be made available to low- and middle-income countries as the world approaches a death toll of 1 million. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva on Monday that the tests would cost less than $5.  He said manufacturers …

Read more “Coronavirus Global Death Tally Approaches 1 Million”

Sri Lanka says it is shipping 21 containers of waste back to Britain.  Officials said hazardous waste materials, including hospital waste, were found in some of the containers, in violation of international laws and European Union regulations.  Officials said the containers were supposed to be holding used mattresses, rugs and carpets for possible recycling. An AFP reports says the containers arrived in Sri Lanka between September 2017 and March …

Read more “Sri Lanka Returns Hazardous Waste to Britain”

Voters in Switzerland rejected a proposed limit on immigration from European Union countries in a national referendum Sunday. The freedom-of-movement proposal put forth by the populist Swiss People’s Party was defeated, with only 38% of voters approving the measure. The intent of the People’s Party was to prioritize access to jobs, social protection and benefits to Swiss citizens over those from the 27 countries of the EU, of which Switzerland is not a member.  Critics of …

Read more “Switzerland Voters Reject Limiting Immigration from EU   ”

Belarusian police detained dozens of protesters on Sunday during a march in Minsk and security forces in Homel used tear gas against demonstrators, as a groundswell of opposition to Alexander Lukashenko, who claimed victory in the country’s presidential election more than a month ago, continued for the 50th day. The protests in Minsk, Homel, and other …

Read more “Dozens Arrested as Protests Against Lukashenko Continue in Belarus “

Switzerland is voting Sunday in a referendum on limiting immigration from the European Union and some other domestic measures.If the freedom-of-movement proposal by the populist Swiss People’s Party were to pass, it would give preferential access to jobs, social protection and benefits to Swiss citizens over those from the 27 countries of the EU, of …

Read more “Switzerland Votes in Referendum on Limiting Immigration from EU”

French officials say a man who is suspected of stabbing two people Friday in Paris has said he was targeting what he thought were the offices of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” because it had recently republished cartoons featuring the Prophet Muhammad.  The attacker was identified as an 18-year-old Pakistani man who arrived in France …

Read more “Paris Attacker Says He Was Targeting ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Magazine “

The Swiss will vote Sunday on limiting immigration from the European Union, which, while not expected to pass, has sparked fears a shock “yes” could devastate relations with the bloc.The initiative backed by the populist right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s largest party — has seen dwindling public support in recent polls.The most recent …

Read more “Free Movement at Risk in Heart of Europe as Swiss Vote”

French police said on Saturday they had detained a person believed to be a former roommate of the man who attacked two people in Paris near the former offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.Late Friday police released a 33-year-old Algerian man who was a witness and had “chased the assailant,” after the investigators corroborated …

Read more “Paris Stabbing Attack Termed Act of Islamist Terrorism”